Saturday, 14 January 2012

I guess it's an acquired taste although I do find more often that people don't pull faces at me these days when I mention it so maybe people are trying to branch out in the 'greens' department a little.

Anyway I decided I wanted to grow some spinach on the allotment as it's quite pricey to but and we do eat a lot of it so off to the shop I went and bought myself some seed.

I bought Spinach Beet...this in itself was probably a mistake and I realise it now but I guess this is how you learn what you do and don't want to eat and grow.

Firstly...spinach beet isn't actually spinach and wasn't so good once the plants got established for eating raw. Secondly it bolted very quickly and a lot of time was spent keeping it in check so that it wouldn't seed all over and also a lot would have been wasted as it got thick stems and tough leaves very quickly. This all added to work load on the plot.

Then of course there is the third and final...I cut it all off at the floor at the end of last year and yet still it grows...I guess the 'Beet' on the packet should have given me a clue but nope....tunnel vision on that day I didn't want to be in town ...get in, buy stuff, get out (if you haven't guessed it...i loathe shopping!!)

So I spent an hour yesterday digging enormous tubers at the ground and I now have a wheelbarrow full of stuff which isn't suitable for the compost heap...I love it when I have a blonde moment...NOT!!!

Wheelbarrow full of Spinach beet!

Needless to say I will be growing spinach again....just not this kind. Anyone out there ever grown spinach?? Got any good suggestions on variety? I think to be honest I have already purchased one...problem is I have obviously put my seeds in a VERY safe place...just can't quite remember where!!

Digging the Spinach up wasn't the only thing I did yesterday...I spent a good amount of time sorting out the greenhouse and the shed so I know what tools I have and also putting them in more appropriate and easy to hand places so I am all set for the new season. I also sorted out the shed guttering which had a little wind damage too.

The weather although cold was clear and bright and it felt so good to be out in the sun...the forecast is the same again for Saturday so I have plans to get some more work done and replenish my vitamin D at the same time!!

I guess it's a great crop if it is really what you want...but it doesn't have the same flavour or texture of actual spinach Jo, that's not to say you wouldn't like it...but if you were going to give it a go I would recommend growing a little in a controlled environment first to save you a lot of hard work of you aren't very keen.

I've bought the wrong things like that before. Just out of curiosity I did a search about spinach beet, but I really didn't find much. I've never really liked regular spinach very much if it's cooked, but my parents love it. I don't mid it raw in a salad. I haven't tried it in a long time though, so maybe it's time to give it another taste. I'm planning on planting a big vegetable garden this spring so I'm beginning to try to decide what exactly I want to plant.

I was given some seeds for Christmas - Mr. Fothergills Komatsuna (Japanese Spinach Te-suto F1), which I'm keen to see. The picture shows a floppy, yet thickish, leaf and doesn't mention the word beet at all. It says that baby leaves are good for salads and mature can be steamed or stir-fried.

Rainbow spinach is a good one as well, I didn't notice that one being annoying at all. I also didn't have trouble with the Perpetual Spinach (but that did have "beet" on the label).

Rainbow spinach is similar to Swiss Chard - the leaves and stalks are various colours - orange, red, green, white, yellow. The leaves are alot bigger than spinach and it's a pick-as-you-eat plant, and I've had more than one season out of a plant. It transplants okay as well.